Lead Risk From Housing [Washington (State)]
State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal · 2025 Full Details
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Full Details
- Title
- Lead Risk From Housing [Washington (State)]
- Description
- This data is included as part of the Environmental Health Disparities Version 3.0 map. To see this map, visit our webpage . For more technical information on this map and the model used, visit our technical report (link) . Background Lead poisoning is a serious but preventable public health issue. There are no safe levels of lead exposure. Even small amounts can lead to significant health implications. Exposure to lead can increase risk for chronic health conditions, neurological defects, and nervous system damage. Children six years old and younger are the most affected by lead exposure. Their growing bodies absorb more lead than adults do, and their brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to its damaging effects. Much of the lead found in human environments is due to the use of lead in products such as water pipes and house paint. Paint typically contained high levels of lead before 1980. Therefore, home age is a marker of the presence of lead paint. In the early 1970s the paint industry issued voluntary standards limiting lead content in paint, and in 1978 lead was banned from use in the manufacture of residential paint. Structural racism and historical discriminatory policies, such as redlining, have contributed to disparities in lead exposure. Non-Hispanic Black children consistently have higher median blood lead levels compared to non-Hispanic white children. Areas with high lead exposure also experience more racial segregation and lower academic test scores. These lower test scores serve as a health measure, reflecting the neurological impact of lead exposure. People with fewer financial resources are more likely to live in older homes where lead paint is deteriorating, increasing their lead exposure. While full removal of lead paint may not always be possible, strategies like maintaining cracking paint and washing children's toys or bottles can reduce the risks. Testing children for lead poisoning is important when there is a potential risk of lead exposure. Evidence Lead exposure can cause learning disabilities, behavior problems, stunted physical growth, and delayed mental development. 1 Racial segregation caused by discriminatory housing policies causes disparities in lead exposure. Non-Hispanic Black children are more likely to be exposed to lead than non-Hispanic white children. 2 Lead paint in older homes can raise indoor lead levels. In combination with poor housing conditions, this can increase the risk of lead exposure. 3,4 Data Source American Community Survey 5-year estimates, B25034 - Selected Housing Estimates American Housing Survey II - presence of lead in housing based on era of construction. 5 Methods The U.S. Census's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year roll-up provides the total number of houses in each census tract and the proportion of houses by year of construction. We adjust each era of construction based on the proportional risk for that era. The adjustment factors come from the American Housing Survey II. The adjustments are for housing built: Before 1940 = 0.619. 1940-1959= 0.309. 1960-1977= 0.075. Caveats This measure models potential lead exposure based on the age of housing. The age of a building by itself does not reflect the actual exposure to lead. Some older homes have had lead paint removed through a process called remediation . Additionally, the age of housing is an individual-level risk factor. This measure represents the whole census tract, which is not the actual risk for a specific house or community within the tract. Not all houses within a census tract were built at the same time, so not all homes within a census tract actually have the same risk. To find the risk for their home, people should consider checking its specific age and lead status. Conditions can vary widely. For a map of lead exposure risk in WA state incorporating both housing and poverty factors, you can visit the Lead Exposure Risk Index on our Information by Location tool. Sources American Academy of Pediatrics. (n.d.). Lead Exposure in Children. Retrieved from https://www.aap.org/en/patient-care/lead-exposure/lead-exposure-in-children/ Bravo MA, Zephyr D, Kowal D, Ensor K, Miranda ML. (2022). Racial residential segregation shapes the relationship between early childhood lead exposure and fourth-grade standardized test scores. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 119(34 ):e 2117868119. Jacobs, D. E., Nevin, R., & Eaton, D. (2009). The relationship of housing and population health: A 30-year retrospective analysis. Environmental Health Perspectives , 117(4), 597-604. Roberts, J. R., Hulsey, T. C., Curtis, G. B., & Reigart, J. R. (2003). Using geographic information systems to assess risk for elevated blood lead levels in children. Public Health Reports , 118(3), 221-229. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes. American Healthy Homes Survey II: Lead Findings Report. October 29, 2021. https://archives.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr-edge-trending-030822.html . Citation Washington Tracking Network, Washington State Department of Health. Web. "Lead Risk from Housing". Data obtained from the American Community Survey, 2019-2023 B25034 - Selected Housing Estimates Data. Published September 2025.
- Creator
- WADOH
- Publisher
- State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal
- Temporal Coverage
- Last Modified: 2025-07-21
- Date Issued
- 2025-07-08
- Rights
- Neither the Washington State Department of Health (WADOH), nor any agency, officer, or employee of the WADOH warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products, or services linked from this system, and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity who relies on any information obtained from this system does so at their own risk.
- Access Rights
- Public
- Format
- ArcGIS FeatureLayer
- Language
- English
- Date Added
- February 02, 2026
- Provenance Statement
- The metadata for this resource was last retrieved from State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal on 2026-02-02.
Cite and Reference
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Citation
WADOH (2025). Lead Risk From Housing [Washington (State)]. State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal. https://geo.wa.gov/datasets/6f0be54ebede44d4972b91982370454f_0 (web service) -
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